Road-cleaning means



Mar. 2o, 1923. www@ 1. WALKER.

ROAD CLEANING MEANS.

FILED APR. 24. 1922. 5 SHEETS-SHEET Y.

INVENTOR 2mes Wz//eff ATTORNEYS BEAM( Mar. 20, 1923.

J WALKER vROAD CLEANING MEANS.

FILED APR 24. 1922 w NW Am,

Malz 20, 1923.

l. WALKER- ROAD CLEANING MEANS.

5 SHEET SHEET 3- FILED APRS 24. 1922.

INVENTOR Jme TVQ/en Mar., 20, 1923.

J WALKER ROAD CLEANING MEANS.

5 SHEETS SHEET 4.

FILED APR.24. 1922.

5 SHEETS SHEET J. WALKER.

ROAD CLEANING MEANS.

FILED APR.24. 1922.

Mar. 20, 1923.

fag

IVENTOR James Wz//ef Patented Mar. :2Q i923. A y

'entre stares adatta garant ogame.

JAMES 0l? NETTLETON, PENNSYLVANIA.

eosin-emanan@ ns.

Application led April 24, 1922. Serial No. 556,2.

vide a new and useful means or mechanism for road cleaning purposes andwhile it is generally operable for cleanlng roads of loose surfacematerial by gathering such maf.

terial and conveying 1t into cars or dischargin'git at points away fromthe roadway, the said invention is more especlally designed for cleaningmine roads and loading the cleanings into mine `cars for belng conveyedoutside of the -mine or in such places within the mineI where it may beconveniently dumped.

As 'iswell known to those familiar with coal miningfoal -dropped fromoverhead or off the cars, onto the roadbed, as the cars ared'rawn'alongby draft animals, becomes verly compact at times, due to menand anima s vtran-iping over the same, and .to such extent that itusually requires much labor to dig up the compact mass and loosen itinto a Condition for being loaded into cars, by manual labor, withordinary shovels.

Primarily, this invention seeks'to provide a relatively simple andmechanicalmeans whose operative parts are so combined, and are adaptedto so coact, that the said mechanism performs evlery operation incidentin cleaning mine roads or` tracks of any kind.

ln its more complete nature, my system of.

mechanical means for cleaning mine roads embodies a portable machine forsimultaneously (ligging or loosening upthe tramped roadloed` scrapingthe loosened bed portions in position for beingconstantly gathered byconveyor devices that carry off the materia]` gathered from the road,and discharging such material into -cars that trail along, the digging,scraping, gathering and the conveying of the gathered material and theloading thereof into they cars, being a continuous operation, as thesecond and third units of my mechanism are being pulled along by thehauling power applied to the digging, scraping, gathering and conveyingmechan1sms.

-road coal faster than the Another and important feature of my inventionexists in the manner in which the control -devices for govering theaction of the roadbed 'digging and scraping elements are arranged, sothat the motorman, who has charge of5 the locomotive, vor other hauling'power, can observe the mechanism that of the digging demachine isgathering conveyor will load 1t into the trailing cars, the4 haulingpower can be readily slowed down or brought .to a stop, while theconveyor ues to elevate the loose coal gathered in front of the entranceend of the conveyor.

With the above objects and other objects in view, that willhereinafter'appear, my invention comprehends a mine road cleaningmeansrwhich embodies the peculiar features of construction and novelarrangement of governs the operation vlees so that when the parts, allof which will be fully stated in the following description, specificallyset out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

lFigure 1 is a diagrammatic sideelevation of the complete arrangement ofmy road cleaning means. v

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the machine upon which is mountedthe di ging,

"scraping and combined gathering an c conveylng mechanism referred to. Y

Figure 3 is la top plan nism shown in Figure 2. y y

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross section.` taken substantially on the line4-4 on Fig-l ure C 1 Figure 5 is a similar view, taken 'on the line 5 5on Figure 3.

Figure Si is a detail perspective view of a 'part of thesolid diggingb/a'r with one of the digger bits operatively attached thereto.

Figure 7 is a detail horizontal section taken substantially on the line7 7 of Figure (i,

Figure 8 is a detail perspective View of the hereinafter specifically'view ofthe mecharigidly held gathering member.

mechanism contini Figure 12 is a diagrammatic plan viewl illustrating amodified construction of the gathering member.

Figure 13 is a detail section on the line. 13-13 on Figure 12.

Figure 14 1s a transverse section'taken on the line 14--14 on Figure 13.

In the present showing of my invention,

the sameis especially constructed for use within coal mines and in thesaid showing of my invention the complete assemblage thereof comprisesessentially three units a hauling power, cars into which Ithe gatheredmaterial is conveyed and loaded and a main unit which embodies theessential features of my invention since such main unit is in the natureof a. machine composed of mechanbehind the said machine.

In the accompanying drawing 4I have shown a mechanical hauling power inthe nature of a common type of mine locomotive, but such power, whenconditions admit it, may be animal power, the locomotive engine beingthe preferred draft means since by joining the front end ofthe mainoperating mechanism to the locomotive with -a high hitch and similarlyhitching the rear end of the said operating mechanism or machinelto thetrailer car, the said machine will be constantly pulled down and held tothe road rails and in proper condition for doing the desired work ofdigging the coal that is often embedded along the road, between andoutside ofthe rails in a compact manner,` asv before mentioned.

Referring now specifically to the structural arrangement of myinvention, that is` the main unit thereof, hereinafter termed thelcombined digging, scraping and gathering machine, the'same includes atruck frame, in practice, made of stout langle iron `well trussed andbraced to stand the required stresses. The bed frame 1 of the truck ismounted on Ithe common type of twelve inch or fourteen inch diameterspoke wheels, designated 2, mounted on the ends of the front and rearaxles 3 and 4, and upon the forward end of the truck frame is mounted anelectric motor 5 which furnishes the necessary power for keeping inactionf the gathering mechanism, hereinafter specifically referred to.

At a suitable position on the forward end of the truck is mounted thedigging mechanism whose function is to constantly break -up and loosenthe coal surface compactly embedded along the road between andto eachside of the track' rails 6 6, and the said digging mechanism, theconstruction of which is best indicated in Figures `2, 3, 5 and 6 of thedrawings, includes-a mainv bar 7 which is transversely mounted upon thetruck frame and is of suiiicient length to eX- tend across and beyondthe-opposite track rails 6--6,. as shown.

The bar 7, hereinafter termed the trigger bar, is pendently supportedfrom the truck frame at its ends in-strong stout guides 8 lwhich arependently attached to the opposite side beams of the truck frame and thesaid bar 7 is held within its guides 8 8 for being f raised and loweredto suit the height of the track rails 6-6 and for enabling the lift- 1ngof the digger elements high enough to permit the passage thereof overswitches or for being held up out of action when conditions make suchadjustments necessary or desirable.

9 designates a compound lever that is'projected within convenient reachof the motorman in charge of the complete train or system and which isconnected to the digger bal' 7 in any suitable manner for controllingthe vertical adjustment of the said bar.

- Inl the construction shown,Y the digger bar, y

is equipped with digging bits 10I and these are shaped and attached tothe bar in Ithe manner best shown in Figures 5, 6, and 7 of thedrawings, by reference to which it will be seen the shanks of the bitsare half round to provide for conveniently clamping vthem to the bar 7by U shaped clip bolts 11 Whose endspass through apertures 12 in thebars 7 and are secured by the nuts 13 which engage the threaded ends ofthe clip bolts 11. The lower ends of the bits 10 are flattened and areforwardly curved and tapered, as is clearly shown in Figure 6.

Any number of bits, depending on the particular character of the roadwayor track gauge, may be attached to the digger bar. In the drawings, 'Ihave illustrated twelve bits fitted tothe said bar 7 for workingbetween4 the opposite rails 6-6 and. four of such bits fitted to eachend of the bar-7 that project beyond the rails 6`6 it being understoodthe bits between the rails break and loosen the road surface betweensuch rails, while the end sets of bits dig up the surface just outsideof the rails, as is clearly shown in Figure 5. y

By referring more particularly to Figures 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 of thedrawings, it will be noticed that the scraping elements comprise.

a scraperI bar 16, preferably of steel, and

'Magere for gathering the scraped material that is loosened by thedigging elements as' they are pulled along the roadway, and the saidmeans-,comprises a metal frame of'substantially U-shape in plan view,whose relation to the truck upon which. it is supported and the roadbedis best shown in Figure 3 ot the drawings, from which it will be seenthat the side members 15-15 of the said frame project forwardly from theback member -18 of such frame and extend practically to the back face ofthe digger bar 7, and to add rigidity to the said members 15--15, bracerods 19-19 are provided, as shown.

rlhe scraper frame, the construction 'of which is shown in detail inFigure 8, has its back wall or member 18 ixedly connected t0 hangers20--20 that are bolted upon the intermediate angled beams 2l of thetruck frame and to ermit making the back member 18 of the 'rame highenough to .keep the gathered road material from passlng over the saidmember, back onto the roadbed, such member 18 has vertical slots 38 toprovide `tor conveniently fitting the same onto the truck frame. Nearits lower end and midway thereof the back member 13 has an opening 23for the passage therethrough of the receiving end of the combinedconveyor and loading means presently explained.

To provide for a proper ttlng or the adjustable scraper bar 16, such barhas cut lout portions 26 for fitting over thel track rail G-- (seeFigure 4) and midway lts length it has a semi-circular notch 27 in itsupper edge, that fits around the lower end pf the conveyor shaft whenthe said bar 1;(3 1s lifted high enough to be out of operativeposition,when such adjustment therefor is required.

Any suitable means may be utilized for raising and lowering the scraperbar 16. For the purpose of illustration,` ll have `.shown a compoundlever 22 which extends forwardly to near the `motormans seat X on themotive power unit. The members of the lever 22 are fulcrumed onstandards and the rearend Vthereof has an elongated slotw'ay forreceiving the'litting bail 24 whose opposite-or pendent ends arefastened to the front face. of the bar 16, as at 25-25 on Figure 9. Thebail 2flis vertically movable in guide members 1li- 141e lt shouldv bestated that` in the practical development of my road cleaning mechanism,the-scraping elements, before mentioned, follow along' with the truck,as the road surface is being loosened up by the digging devices, and thesaid scraper frame drags along the loosened material and constantlygathers it into a mass or pile high enough to cover the receiving end ofthe pick up conveyor, as is clearly indicatedlin Figure .2 of thedrawings.

As before stated, my invention includes a mechanical means forconstantly gathering the scr-apedvup road material and which conveys itrearwardly and loads the same into a car-or cars which trail behind theItruck l.

The said gathering or offtake means com- ;prises a main spiral conveyor41 which works within a main tube 42 that extends rearwardly and 'issupported, at an upward i' incline upon the truck and discharges thelifted material into .a supplemental horizontally disposed spiralconveyor 28 operable Witbin a separate tube 29 which is held in ahorizontal plane and extends back over the car or cars E30- 30, whichcars are loaded from the supplemental conveyor in the manner presentlyexplained.

'The main or spiral conveyor 41 includes a' drive shaft 31, whose lowerend extends beyond the mouth of the conveyor and is connected by anysuitable power transmission mechanism 32, 33, 34 with a driving shaft35, to whichpower is transmitted through reducing gears 36 from themotor or engine shaft 50, as is clearly shown in Figures 2 and 12, itbeing understood that when the conditions of the gathered mass inadvance-of the scrap-ing element is such that the accumulations are morerapid than the conveyor can take them otl, the traction power may beheld fromA further forward movement as the conveyor mechanism continuesto lift the gathered mass and load it back into'the car.

At this point, it should be mentioned that for some work the digging andscraping mechanism may be used without the conveyor mechanism, and thegathered mass, when thesaid mass is of sufficient 'qantity, may beremoved from between the digging and scraping elements by laborers withordinarv shovels. i

. lvlhen, however, my mechanism is in. the

"complete form, best shown in Figure 2, the

2@ thefmaterial as it is the supplemental conveyor tube 29, forproframewith' a back portion `18 and side yec extends high enough toprevent'the material going over the top of the said" back member 18,while the loosened material at the outside of the rails is held fromowing away, laterally as it is caught up and massed with the othergathered material.

When two cars are to be loaded, as shown in Figure 1, the supplementalconveyor need not extend over the rear end of the rear carvsince it canstop short of such car end Vand in such arrangement the supplementalconveyor, when the several loading gatesl (presently referred to) areclosed, will discharge into and load the rear half of the rearA one.

Any suitable construction of gates may be employed for controlling theoutflow of being conveyed through gressively iilling the cars, beginningwith the rear end of the rear car.

Power is transmitted to each of the shafts V39 in any suitable m-anner,for example, as -diagrammatically shown in Flgure vl2, which illustratesa shaft 55 driven by the transmissionA gearingl operated by the motor 5and from which power is transmitted, through an endless sprocket chainconnection,56, to one of the shafts 39; the other shaft 39 beingfdriventhrough a sprocket and chain connection 57 that joins with the drivingshaft 3.5.

The advantages of my invention will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art to which such invention relates. mechanism is relativelysimple and such that it can be readily kept'in order and while thearrangement of the parts -as shown and described illustrates anoperative emb'odment ofmy invention, it is to be understood that I donot limit myself Vto Ithe exact details of the combinations andarrangements of the parts as illustrated, since many changes in thedetailed assemblage and cooperative connection of the said described andlshown parts may be made, without departing from the scope and spirit ofmy inventionfas defined by the claims.

For example, instead of lifting the material gathered on the roadbed bythe digging and scraping elements, by screw con- .veyors -as shown, thesaid gathered material may be removed and elevated, either to the 'rea-rof the machine or laterally thereof, by

any of the'well-known types of ,elevating mechanisms used in elevatingroad cleanings.

What I claim is: y 1. In a'mechanism lfor loosening road-v beds andlifting and conveying the loosened .material into a car, a truck, a`hauling power attached to the front off the truck,

'redacta The entire veyor bein -a'load receiving car 'hitched to therear end the truck, drag devices on thetruck mounted transversely of thecar for digging and loosening the roadbed, means on the said truck forgathering the material as itis loosened by the drag devices into a mass,a

conveyor mounted on the truck that picks up the gathered mass anddeposits it in the loadl receiving car, a motor on the truck, powertransmission gearing that connects the motor driven shaft withthecombined that engage the roadbed outslde the oppo'- A site rails, thescraping mechanism including back `and side vportions that enga thematerial loosened between and outsi e' the track rails'and movesuchmaterial 'cinto a mass before the receiving end of the gathering andlifting conveyor. 5

2. A means for cleaning mine roadbeds comprising a hauling power, a loadreceiving car, a truck located between and hitched to the hauling powera-nd the car, digger elements pendent from the truck,/the said elementsincluding digger teeth for engaging the roadbed between the rails andother teeth for digging and loosening the material at each side of thesaid rail and scraping mechanism supported upon and movable y terial ateach sideof the said rail and scrap:

lll@

ing mechanism supported upon and movable with the truck for'gatheringthe road material as itis loosened between and outside I the rails intoa mass between such rails and tion for being removed, the said scrapingelements including a back member, forwardly extending side membersadapted for crowdingv the loosened material lin a compact mass inadvance of the back memberand an oi'take conveyor whose lower orreceivin end projects through and in advance o the said back'member,vthe said conupwardl and rearwardly 'inclined to ischarge tl egatheredImateriaI,v and afload receiver into which the said material isdischarged, said receiver being cou-1y pled to and movable with theaforesaid truck. .v

a. A means for cleaning mine roadbeds comprising a hauling power, atruck hitched to the hauling power, digger elements pendent from thetruck, the said elements including digger teeth for engaging the roadbedbetween the rails and# other teeth for digging and loosening thematerial at each side of the said rail and scraping mechanism supportedupon 'and movable with the truck for gathering the road material vas itis loosened between and outside the rails into back member, the saidconveyor bein a mass between such rails and the scraping and diggingelements in position for being removed, the said scraping elementsincluding a back member, forwardly extending side members adapted forcrowding the loosened material in a compactmass in advance of the backmember, and an olitake A conveyor whose lower or receiving end pron ofdischarge, a hauling power, a truck v@il hitched to said power, adigging mechanism mounted on the truck, said mechanism comprising adigger bar that extends across and bevond` the opposite rails, a set `ofdigger bits attached to and pendently supported on the -bar forloosening the bed between the rails, otherdigger bits attached to theopposite ends of the bar for loosening the roadbed portions along-theoutside of and adjacent the said rails, and scraping elements on thetruck trame which follow the digger elements and drag the loosenedmaterial in a confined mass along between the rails and back of thedigger elements.

6. `vln a mechanism for loosening roadbedsurfaces ot mines and .liftingthe loosened material andy conveying the same to a place ot discharge, avhaullng power, a truck` hitched to said power, a digging mechanismrmounted on the truck, said mechanism comprisinga digger bar thatextends across and beyond the opposite rails, a set of digger bits'attached to and pendently supported on the 'bar for loosening the bedbetween the rails,

other digger bits attached to the opposite ends of the bar for looseningthe roadbed portions along the outside of and adjacent the said rails,scraping Velements on the truck frame which follow behind the diggerelements and drag the loosened material in a confined mass along betweenthe rails and back of the digger elements, a conveyor mounted on thetrack whose entrance end is projected beyond the front of the scrapmgelements and is adapted to remove the 'gathered mass and which isrearwardly projected from the said scraping elements, a motor on thetruck and means :for transmitting the motor power from the motor to vtheconveyor.

7. lln a mechanism for loosening roadbed surfaces of mines and liftingthe loosened material and conveying the same to a place of discharge, ahaulmg power, a truck hitched to said power, a digging mechanism mountedon the truck, said mechanism comprising a digger bar that extends acrossand beyond the opposite rails, a set of digger bits attached to andpendently supported on the bar for loosening the bed betweeen the rails,other digger bits attached to the opposite ends of the bar for looseningthe roadbed portions along the outside ot and adjacent the said rails,scrapin elements on the truck frame which follow ehind the diggerelements and drag the loosenedmaterial in a confined mass along between,the rails and back of the digger'elements, a conveyor mounted on thetrack whose entrance end is projected beyond the front of the scrapingelements and is adapted to remove the gathered mass and which isrearwardly projected from the said scraping elements, a motor on thetruck, means for transmitting the motorrpower from the motor to theconveyor, guides pendent from the truck frame in which the oppositeends-of the vdigger bars have vertical movement and other likeguides inwhich the ends of the scraper -bar are mounted and separate levercontrolled devices for raising and lowerin the said digger and scrapingelements, an holding them to their adjusted positions.

8. ln a lroad cleaning mechanism, a hauling power and a car intov whichthe road cleaning-s are deposited; in combination with a truck the saidtruck having a. highv hitch at one end with the hauling power and a likehitch at the other end with the car, a lseries ot digger elementspendent trom the truck adapted for breaking up and loosening the roadbedsurface as the truck travels forward, scraping elements on the truckthatl follow the digger elements and gather the lua loosened materialinto a mass on the roadbed between thescraping and digger elements andan elevatingconveyor whose entrant end projects into the said gatheredmass, said conveyor including a section that projects over anddischarges into the car behind the truck, a'motor on the truck and powertransy mission gearing that joins the motor shaft and the conveyor forimparting rotation to the said conveyor. f

.9. lin a road cleaning mechanism of the character stated, thecombination 'with a truck adapted for being drawn along the road rails,a digger bar 'disposed transversely over the roadbed and pendentlysupported on the truck fralne, the opposite ends of the bar extendingoutside of the roadbed, a series of digger bits vertically disposedalong the front face of the bar and along that portion of thebar-between. the road rails, other bits pendent from the front Aface fof the bar at the ends that; extend beyond the said rails, and means onthe truck to ythe rear of the digger 'bar that gather the 110. ln aroad-cleaning mechanism of' the character stated, the combination withav truck adapted for being drawn along the road rails, a digger bardisposed transversely over the roadbed and pendently supported on thetruck trame, the opposite ends of the bar extending outside of the'roadbed a series of digger bits vertically disposed along the frontface of the bar and alon that portion of the bar between the roa rails,other bits pendent from the front face of the bar at the ends thatextend beyond the said rails, means on the truck tothe rear of thedigger bar that gather the material loosened by the di ger bits into amass ready for being remove' from the said roadbed, means for constantlye'ecting the re- -moval of the said material as it is being athered bytheA scraping elements and a urther means fdr applying motion to thesaid mechanism cause such mechanism to remove the said material frombetween the track rails.

11. ln a roadbed cleaning mechanism'of the character described, a truckfor engaging the roadbed rails, means on the truck inname and conveyordevices as they l are pulled lalong with the truck.

12.' In a roadbed cleaning mechanism of the character described, a truckforengaging the roadbed rails,l means on the truck for digging andloosening the roadbed while being' dragged alon the said roadbed, meanson the truck that ollowthe roadbed digging and loosening means and whichscrapes the loosened material into a massed pile, a combined pick lupand conveying mechanism on the truck that athers the mass, conveys anddisch'ar es it ack of the truck, further means or actuating the combinedpick w and conveyor devices as they are pulle along with the truck, thesaid material scraping means including members operable along theoutside of each rail for gathering the material loosened at the' outsideofthe rail and depositing such material laterally between the rails, andtransmission gearing4 for imparting power from the motor to the saidlast mentioned devices.

y as WALKER@ for digging and'loosening the'roadbed

